Space Race
by Ms. Usui
Summary: The Cold War wasn't all death threats and nuclear weapons. The advancements made in space exploration during that period were remarkable. Join our two favorite countries, Russia and the US, as they compete to see who is the superior Space Power! R
1. For the Benefit of All

**Opening notes;**

First, I do not own "Hetalia." I'm pretty sure that's clear.

Second, this is _not_ my first fanfic, just the first I care to post here.

Third, this is not an accurate representation of actual countries, presidents or armed forces. That's why I don't use the country names much, though it's pretty obvious who everyone is.

There are no pairings in this story, and it's rated T only for minor language. That's pretty much it. Enjoy the story!

* * *

_I won't lose._

It was a phrase that Alfred often found himself repeating – over and over and over – since this battle began after the Second World War.

_We were friends._

Another futilely murmured sentence in the effort to understand how this could've possibly happened. One minute the two nations were celebrating their success with allies, and the next… West Berlin was starving; Korea was split in two, and an Iron Curtain had effectively done the same to Europe.

Alfred currently sat in his dark home, seated beside one of the larger windows. He stared out at the expanse of the night sky – terribly lonely and frustrated. Toris had left at the start of the Depression, and Arthur hardly visited him anymore. He hadn't seen his brothers in years, and the countries under the Monroe Doctrine were getting very agitated. What's worse was that no matter how many missiles he constructed, Russia always had more – as if the Soviets had known about the project even before his boss had.

_There's no use worrying yourself now,_

It was what Eisenhower would constantly tell him, but… this strange relationship he'd been building with the Eastern superpower had him up all night, and busy all day. This war, this bitter rivalry, was going nowhere – and it was Alfred's greatest wish to put a stop to it, by any means necessary.

Then movement caught the young nation's eye. Alfred looked up from his distressed thoughts, his vision taken over again by the star-speckled skyline. One tiny beckon of light was drifting overhead. At first, Alfred stared at it – quite amazed. He assumed it to be a star, and was on his feet and out the door in no time flat. Alfred looked up at the slow moving space object...

And his heart sunk.

He could feel the apprehension of his people chilling his blood as they stared up at the same sky. He didn't need his boss' call to know what exactly all of America was looking at.

* * *

"Did you see it?" Ivan asked in crude English as Alfred's administration was filled in on the USSR's successful satellite launch. Alfred his rubbed his temples with a gloved hand, trying to do his best to ignore the larger country. He had been advised to watch the sky that October day, but he hadn't really thought…

"My _Sputnik_-1, it was really beautiful," Ivan informed, floating over to Alfred and draping an arm over the Western country's shoulder. Normally Alfred would've reacted with gusto – starting an argument or gloating about anything he thought was worth bragging about, but he just didn't have the energy to do so this time. He let Ivan press his face close, but his innocent expression wasn't fooling anyone.

'_Just pretend he's me, and I'm Arthur…'_ Alfred thought, a small half-smile crawling onto his face. Ivan took this differently, and pressed closer.

"I am a space power now, _Amerika_," Ivan cooed, cupping the blonde's face in his large hands. He smiled, but the expression was malicious. "I'm unbeatable – on Earth, and now in outer space too. _Kak chudyesno!_" The Russian laughed, growing even more mirthful as Alfred growled and wrenched himself from Ivan's grasp.

"We'll see about that," Alfred snapped, jabbing Ivan's thick coat with his finger. He glared up at the man, who was surprised to see had not been intimidated at all. Alfred's irritated frown grew into a playful smirk, and he crossed his arms – immediately putting on an air of superiority.

"Look, my Commie friend, I'll be winning the Arms Race…" the blonde said, leaning in, "and I'll definitely beat you when it comes to space travel…" his smirk grew, and he narrowed his eyes, "in fact, we're already making progress on sending our men to the moon!"

Ivan's childish grin twitched, but he kept his mask on. "The moon...?" He muttered, staring up at the ceiling as if he could see the celestial body through it. When his gaze returned to Alfred, it was filled with a cold determination. Alfred had to keep himself from cringing at the way Ivan's eyes had changed so quickly.

"I'll beat you to the moon, Alfred," Ivan said, his suddenly terrifying expression washed away by his usual merry face. "And we'll see if I don't target Washington from my new moon base."

The door they were arguing in front of clicked, and President Eisenhower stepped out. He and his guards looked from Ivan and Alfred before the Soviet bid them all good day. As Ivan walked down the corridor toward the exit, his scarf fluttering behind him, he called over his shoulder; "_Osnovaneu na lunye! Demaytye yego, Amerika_!"

Alfred leered after him, but quickly cut his attention to the president. "Boss…?" He questioned, one of his brows raised. He, and the American people, desperately wanted to know what their leader planned to do. The distinguished man offered Alfred a small grin and placed a firm hand on the country's shoulder.

"What do you think of the _National Aeronautics and Space Act?_"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Please leave a review~

The title of the story, "_Space Race_," is tentative. I'm trying to think up a better title, but...

The Russian is all transliterated, and I'm not a native speaker by any means, so I probably made a few mistakes.

1.) Как чудесно = "How wonderful/How marvelous"

2.) Основание на луне! Думайте его, Америка! = "A moon base! Imagine it, America!"


	2. Immediate Response & My Sputnik

**Opening notes;**

First, I do not own "Hetalia." I'm pretty sure that's clear.

Second, this is _not_ my first fanfic, just the first I care to post here.

Third, this is not an accurate representation of actual countries, presidents or armed forces. That's why I don't use the country names much, though it's pretty obvious who everyone is.

There are no pairings in this story, and it's rated T only for minor language. That's pretty much it. Enjoy the story!

* * *

_Wonderful._

It was the one word that perfectly described the current era. The Soviet Union was growing, and everything around it was dying.

_How could this have possibly gone better?_

All the super powers of the world had rolled over and died after World War II. They were mere shadows of their former selves, and now… that made Russia the glorious surviving nation, didn't it? The large country hadn't suffered the set backs of the World-Wide Depression after the First World War, and what was a few million military casualties during the second?

Oh yes, Ivan was doing quite well for himself.

However, there was one little thorn in his side… the detestable North American country to the East of him. It was always him, _Alfred,_ that made a mess of his affairs – of all of Europe's affairs; and most recently, had begun to meddle with the Asian nations as well.

_Damn them, American assholes,_

Khrushchev laughed bitterly to himself, and to Ivan who was seated across from him. They shared the same thoughts in those cold years – 'who was Alfred to try and under mind Soviet superiority?' It was only last year that Khrushchev wrested control of the nation from Malenkov, but he was already taking the job very seriously. He was about as adamant about embarrassing the United States as Ivan himself was.

"Do not worry," The esteemed leader told his country, taking Ivan's hand in his own. "The United States will never over take us in this race; their missiles are not as numerous nor as good as ours. They do not have the intercontinental ballistics we do. If they did, they would have launched their own _Sputnik_."

Ivan smiled coyly, kissing Khrushchev's hand. "I am not worried."

* * *

It was the Sputnik that launched the Space Race. There was no doubt about that. What started as a simple experiment for the International Geophysical Year had turned into one of Russia's most celebrated events – and America's frantic scramble to catch up. _'The poor soul, he's so far behind,'_ Ivan thought to himself, grinning like a fool as he observed Alfred's rushed projects from the comfort of his home. DARPA, NASA, SCORE, Explorer… in the Russian's eyes, they were all flimsy attempts to make the US look like it was holding up against the Soviets. Like it was _better…_

"Ivan…" a soft voice called from behind the Communist super power. Ivan didn't respond at first, but after a moment he turned to his favorite occupied nation.

"Toris…" Ivan purred, propping himself up on one elbow. "…what can I do for you?"

Toris, a former superpower himself, was well aware of the front Ivan was putting on. He was smirking like a fat cat, which was never good. Not to mention it was just blasphemous to speak to Ivan without first being spoken to…

"Ahm…" The Baltic state started, averting his gaze. "You have a phone call…"

Ivan quirked an eyebrow, it was most unusual for anyone to call him. Then again, he could easily guess who it was on the other line. The Soviet nodded, but continued to stare at Toris' delightfully troubled face. The only thing that could've made the whole thing better was if Raivis and Eduard had accompanied him – with the same expression, of course. The brunette lingered for a minute, before deciding it was best to depart – quickly. Toris bid his goodbye and left the room, leaving Ivan to tend to his phone call.

As he guessed, the caller was…

"Yo, USSR!" The annoyingly smug voiced shouted in Ivan's ear as he picked up the receiver. Alfred leaned against the railing of one of his now numerous laboratories dedicated to space exploration. Advancements in the United States were going very well, and Alfred felt the need to gloat. Unlike most of the other countries of the world, he did not fear Ivan – so he felt confident in bragging. Not to mention it helped when said largest country on the planet wasn't face-to-face with you.

"I'm sure you've heard about all our projects by now, right? How does it feel ya Commie bastard? Does it taste like your own medicine!" Alfred laughed, and from Ivan's end, it also sounded like he had paused to take a bite out of something. How rude, eating while on the telephone…

"What's that, _Alfryeda_? It sounds like you haven't quite got your facts in line…" Ivan responded, twirling the telephone cord around his finger. Before Alfred had a chance to rebuke him (and probably get hamburger remains all over his glorious American phone), Ivan continued.

"Hehehe, did you forget? _Sputnik_-3 was the first to detect the Van Allen belt."

Well, that ruined one of Alfred's arguments. He pouted, finishing off his burger in one mighty gulp. He defended his beloved first satellite regardless.

"Explorer-1 was the first, or did _you_ forget that your Communist recorder failed?"

"Ha… ha… ha… technicalities don't count, dear _Amerika_."

"It's not offic-"

"Cape... Canaveral's... disaster."

Oh no, He did NOT just go there. Ivan chuckled to himself. He could practically _hear_ Alfred's mounting frustration. Was it too early to be reminded of such embarrassing failures? Alfred prevented an irritated sigh from leaving his mouth, and in the meantime forced a heroic grin onto his face – although Ivan couldn't see it.

"You will wipe that stupid smile off your face, won't you?" Ivan giggled. Obviously Alfred had forgotten that Alaska was no longer a part of Russia – but of his own America. And Ivan _could_ see the blonde from his house. Alfred turned a beat red, suddenly finding himself in the cold, new state. He glared lightly at his neighbor, who waved innocently to him from the Soviet Union.

"The Vanguard-1," Alfred said, not bothering to return to Washington although his Boss would probably wonder why he'd left so suddenly. Alfred's grin had faltered, but it had regained its strength – and now the democratic nation found himself beaming. He had known Ivan was there, but had never thought he was this close. It made him a little nervous… He should really visit his newest state more often.

"Vanguard-1 is powered with _solar energy._ It's up there right now soakin' in the suns rays." Alfred confirmed, having hung up his phone back at the NASA headquarters in favor of just shouting across the Bering Straight. Ivan had done the same, throwing open his wide windows and hanging out of them. _'Pretty hard to beat that, huh!'_ Alfred thought, crossing his arms proudly as Ivan seemed to think up a rebuttal.

Unfortunately, he did.

"Hm. _Sputnik_-2… the first living creature in orbit… and the first death in space," Ivan said smoothly, his face twisting into a demented smile as he imagined the dog up there, inside his satellite. He stared across the snowy landscape at his rival, wondering if it suffocated or starved to death. "And that was _last year."_

Alfred scoffed. He turned his back on Ivan, giving him an exaggerated shrug.

"That's nothing to be proud of. It's not even heroic, it's sick." He didn't bother to tell Ivan about how well Project SCORE was going, or about his other plans. Alfred would let Ivan win this argument, but the next time they met, it would be a much different outcome.

Ivan smiled at Alfred's back. He watched the blonde's aviator jacket flap in the sudden gust of wind. At that time, the number on the leather was "49."

"_Korosho dyen', Alfryeda_!" Ivan called merrily as Alfred walked away, knowing how much the nation hated the way his name sounded in Russian. "I rather miss Laika, don't you?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Please leave a review, or you won't get to learn about space! *shot*

The next chapter will not be in this format. If you noticed, this chapter and the first one are rather similar looking - that was on purpose.

Rough translation of Russian;

1.) Хороший день, Альфред! = "Good day, Alfred!"


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